363: Chapter 363 Stomping Her Feet in Anger

Xun Luoyuan turned around to shout, but only saw a receding figure in the distance. She stomped her feet in anger, her eyes reddening slightly, both ashamed and annoyed: "If you go back, you can easily resolve it, but what about me!"

"Damned Feng Ming! To just wash your hands of me after using me, you're simply irresponsible! I'm so angry!"

The night wind grew stronger, fluttering her clothes and blowing away some of the dry heat within her body.

Thinking of what Feng Ming had said—"If not resolved within three days, your body will explode and you will die"—Xun Luoyuan gripped her sleeves tightly. Her cheeks grew even hotter, and her heart was filled with shame and anxiety, yet she was helpless.

She looked at the empty city tower, stomped her feet, and could only turn around in the end, disappearing into the night with a heavy heart... The night was deep, and the Inn had long since fallen silent.

When Feng Ming pushed the door open and entered, only the cold moonlight fell into the courtyard. Zhang Bai, Jiang Bing, and the others were already fast asleep. Having had too much wine tonight, they slept as soundly as dead pigs, not even disturbed in the slightest by the sound of the wind outside the window.

In the entire Inn, only Lu Qianqian's room still had a warm lamp lit, standing out exceptionally in the dark night.

Feng Ming did not stand on ceremony at all and pushed the door straight open. As expected, he saw Lu Qianqian sitting by the table, her brow showing a hint of anxiety; she had clearly been waiting for his return.

Seeing Feng Ming appear, Lu Qianqian immediately stood up to meet him and asked urgently, "Where did you go? Did something happen?"

Feng Ming shook his head gently, his tone flat but hiding a few imperceptible ripples: "It wasn't anything major. Your Majesty issued a decree to banish Yang Chenyu from the Imperial Capital."

Lu Qianqian was suddenly stunned upon hearing this, her face full of disbelief: "Yang Chenyu committed such a great crime and publicly offended the Commandery Princess, yet Your Majesty only banished him from the Capital? This punishment is far too light! If King Xibei finds out, he will surely be beyond furious!"

"King Xibei? He's long since been unable to get angry," Feng Ming said faintly.

Lu Qianqian was startled at first, then suddenly realized, sighing softly: "That's true. King Xibei's health is declining day by day and his lamp is already running out of oil; how could he have the strength to be angry? But such a disposal is truly disheartening. The Commandery Princess must be feeling so terrible in her heart."

"She is indeed upset, but not because of this matter." Feng Ming's eyes deepened. "In the crushing weight of imperial power, she has long since grown accustomed to such coldness. Now that the marriage contract is completely settled, she will likely never set foot in this Imperial Capital again."

After saying that, Feng Ming picked up the wine flask on the table, poured two cups of strong wine, and pushed one to Lu Qianqian: "Don't think about these annoying things. Come, let's drink."

Having rushed all the way back, the biting night wind had forcibly suppressed the effects of the Entangling Love Threads quietly surging within him. The three-day deadline was still far off, so he was in no hurry to resolve it.

Drinking with Lu Qianqian at this moment actually allowed him to temporarily set aside the worries in his heart.

Perhaps knowing they were to part at dawn, Lu Qianqian was exceptionally free-spirited tonight. She no longer deliberately suppressed the alcohol, clinking glasses with Feng Ming one after another, an inextinguishable reluctance hidden in the depths of her eyes.

Feng Ming saw this and could only silently circulate his True Qi to neutralize the alcohol. It wasn't that he was being dismissive, but rather that everyone in the Inn was already drunk; he had to remain sober, otherwise if Lu Qianqian collapsed drunk on the floor, there would be no one to look after her.

Sure enough, in less than half an hour, Lu Qianqian succumbed to the wine. She leaned over the table murmuring nonsense, her cheeks flushed, sleeping completely without defense.

Feng Ming looked at her defenseless appearance, and waves of reluctance rose in his heart. Having been companions day and night for many days, their friendship had long since taken deep root. Now that they were about to part, even someone with a Heart-Nature as resilient as his couldn't help but feel melancholy.

But life is inherently a series of departures. Everyone has their own pursuits and paths home. While romantic feelings are precious, they are never the entirety of life.

Just like when Lu An'an insisted on going far away to Qian Prefecture, all he could do was provide unconditional support. Even a bird is unwilling to be trapped in a cage, let alone a person who holds the world in their heart.

Feng Ming leaned down, gently picked up Lu Qianqian, and placed her on the bed. He carefully covered her with the brocade quilt and, after confirming the doors and windows were tightly shut, turned to return to his own room.

The night had reached its deepest point. Feng Ming did not light a candle, sitting alone in the dark room, lost in thought. After an unknown amount of time, a faint, strange movement suddenly came from within his storage ring.

He immediately separated a strand of consciousness and delved into the storage ring. The sight before him made Feng Ming freeze instantly.

Inside the storage ring, that long-sealed block of Ten Thousand Year Cold Ice had already mostly melted. The several large water basins below were already filled with ice water.

What shocked him most was that as the cold ice melted, a silhouette slowly began to appear within the ice layer. It was definitely not the venomous insect or creature he had expected, but the figure of a person. Looking at those slender and delicate curves, it was clearly a woman!

Inside the Ten Thousand Year Cold Ice, there was actually a woman sealed in ice?

Feng Ming's heart was filled with uncertainty. He tried to project his Divine Sense into the cold ice to investigate the woman's appearance and condition, but the closer he got to that figure, the more concentrated the potent poison contained within the ice became. His Divine Sense was forcibly blocked, unable to advance an inch.

Looking at the blurry silhouette of the woman in the ice layer, Feng Ming suppressed the curiosity in his heart. For now, he could only wait for the cold ice to melt completely to learn the truth.

To prevent accidents, he raised his hand and laid down a simple isolation Formation, completely separating the cold ice from the poison water basins below, leaving only a fist-sized gap for the ice water to drip through.

In this way, even if the cold ice melted completely and the woman fell, she would be caught by the Formation and would never fall into the basins filled with potent poison.

Once the arrangements were made, Feng Ming's consciousness had just returned to his body when his door was suddenly pushed open. A figure stood silently at the doorway.

In the darkness, Feng Ming accurately captured the other person's aura, as well as that familiar scent of wine. He immediately spoke in surprise: "Xiao Qian? It's so late, why aren't you sleeping? What are you doing coming to my room?"

He was certain he wouldn't mistake it; that aura and wine scent belonged to no one but Lu Qianqian.

Seeing Lu Qianqian remain silent, Feng Ming helplessly took out a fire starter. While lighting the candle on the table, he smiled and said: "I thought you weren't using your True Qi to clear the wine because you intended to drink until you were dead drunk. What is it? You've sobered up and run over here because you haven't had enough, or..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Lu Qianqian had already stepped forward quickly. Without waiting for the candle to brighten, she raised her hand and blew out the flame in one breath.

The room instantly returned to darkness. Feng Ming was momentarily stunned. Just as he was about to ask, a warm dark shadow suddenly lunged in front of him. In the next second, soft lips covered his, blocking all his words.

The tender sensation between their lips and teeth came through clearly, and Feng Ming instantly understood Lu Qianqian's feelings.

The door had already been quietly closed by her. In the sealed room, only their intertwined breathing remained.

The effects of the Entangling Love Threads, which had just been forcibly suppressed by the night wind, suddenly exploded in this unexpected tenderness, sweeping through his entire body. This time, Feng Ming no longer resisted. One way or another, the effects had to be resolved, and the person in his arms was a tenderness he was willing to accept.

Perhaps it was the effects of the Entangling Love Threads at work, or perhaps it was the reluctance of the dawn's parting that birthed such extreme sentiment; this night, both of them poured out their hearts.